


27Minutes

by boltschick2612



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Boys Being Boys, Colorado Avalanche, M/M, Sad Fluff, Syracuse Crunch, Tampa Bay Lightning, prospect camp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-11
Updated: 2013-07-11
Packaged: 2017-12-19 03:43:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/879023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boltschick2612/pseuds/boltschick2612
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's so much Jo wants to say, but can't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	27Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> Please forgive all errors, I really don't know too much about these two. The number 27 in the story and in the title is a reference to Jonathan's jersey number, which I believe he will also be using here in Tampa. Hope you enjoy!

  
Jonathan's having a hard time deciding where to sit, because of course there's only two beds, and three of them. Of course there is. If he has to be honest, sharing space with either Adam or Danick sounds about as inviting as sitting on the hard floor. He doesn't really have anything against them, he never would have agreed to hang out and watch a movie if he did. But Jonathan knows himself, and he knows how he gets after games, practices, and camps. He kind of shuts down, and doesn't want to be around anyone, or do anything. He needs time away from the world to decompress, and let his mind drift away on a sea of banality. There's only one person who could ever break through Jonathan's temporary wall, and he's over a thousand miles away. Every second without Nate felt empty, and it left an ache in Jo's heart that he wasn't quite used to. Nate was the only one Jo ever felt comfortable enough to be himself around.

 

Perhaps that's why he agreed to spend time with Adam and Danick. He knew sitting alone in his hotel room and dwelling on all the things he missed about Nate would be about as productive as...well, sitting alone in a hotel room. So, when the guys approached him at the end of an extremely long day at training camp, and asked if he wanted to watch some movie he'd never heard of, he reluctantly agreed. But almost as soon as they made it back to Adam's hotel room, Jo started to regret his decision, just a little. He may not be able to have Nate next to him, but if Jo was alone, at least he could call him without having to worry what he could and couldn't say around other people. There's always this small part of Jo that feels like no one else could ever understand that he has with Nate, and that he has to hide it away from the world. Sometimes it feels silly, and sometimes it feels right, like what they share is so unique and all consuming that they were the only two in the world capable of handling it.

 

Jo is so lost in his own thoughts, that he almost forgets where he is, and the fact that Adam and Danick are waiting on him to settle in, so they could start the movie. He's just about to throw his body on the edge of the bed closest to him, when his cell phone chirps happily in his pocket. Jo doesn't even have to look at the screen to know who's calling, and he doesn't have to waste a shred of energy debating whether or not he wants to talk to them. He hurriedly fishes the phone from his pocket, and pushes the answer button, engaging the call before it has a chance to send Nate to voicemail. He doesn't say anything right away, he doesn't have to. Nate and Jo have been calling each other long enough to have their own little routine. If either of them doesn't speak right away, it's not because they don't want to talk, quite the opposite. It's simply because they want to be alone, in a place where their words are only meant for each other, and no one else. 

 

Jo then glides across the room, and his movements towards the sliding glass door leading out to the hotel room balcony are so swift, and fluid, that it's almost as if it were a single stride, instead of several steps. He stops for a second in front of the door, and shoots a glance back towards Adam before silently mouthing the words 'be right back.'

 

Adam cocks an eyebrow, smiles slightly, and points towards the TV, where the movie is just starting to play. "Pause it?"

 

"Nah, go ahead. Previews take up a good twenty seven minutes anyways," Jo says, and waves a dismissive hand, wondering if anyone will pick up on his odd number choice. They don't, and he finds he doesn't really care. Ok, maybe he does, just a little. Despite this, he can't help but let a small smile play on his lips, because he knows that Nate would've laughed at his lame attempt at a joke. Nate laughs at all his lame jokes.

 

But Nate isn't there, and the only tie Jo has to him at the moment is the impersonal piece of plastic held in his hand. A caller on one end, waiting for a receiver on the other. The last thing Jo hears before he steps out onto the balcony, and into the damp Florida night air, is Danick's voice calling after him.

 

"How long you plannin' on being out there?"

 

There's a slight laugh coloring the edges of Danick's voice, but Jo pretends like he doesn't hear him, then slowly slides the glass door shut behind him. The humidity assaults him in an instant, the thick air wrapping around him like a blanket, and clinging to his skin. It's stifling, and Jo briefly thinks how it's almost like the hot air is something tangible, something he can reach out and run his fingers through. He even does so for a few seconds, relishing in the feeling of the scarce breeze on his skin. He then walks to the balcony railing, and leans over, resting his elbows on the cold wrought iron before pressing the phone to his ear.

 

"Sorry, Nat. Had to step outside."

 

Jo only hears a slight chuckle from the other end of the line, followed by a Nate's voice, and he's struck with the feeling that it has been far too long, despite the fact that it's only been a little over a week.

 

_"Hey, Jo."_

 

Hearing Nate say his name causes a hot twisting in the pit of Jo's stomach, and his heart starts to race. He's inches away from asking Nate to say it again, just so he can hear it one more time, but he has to remind himself that it's a luxury he simply doesn't have, considering where he is. He'll have to settle for something else. "Hey"

 

_"_ _How's camp?"_

 

Jo tries to recall the day's events, he really does, but it all gets lost in a haze, somewhere between power skating, drills, and some weird exercise where he had to pull a trainer around on the ice.

 

"I'll let you know as soon as I remember," he says through a laugh. There's a silence that fills the line, as if they're both too tired to form any words, yet simply content to listen to the sound of the other one breathing. If Jo closes his eyes, and lets the sound wash over him, it's almost as if Nate is right there with him.

 

After what seems like an eternity, Nate's voice breaks through the silence, it's tone heavy.

 

" _Gotta run anyways. Just wanted to hear your voice."_

 

"Me too," Jo says, his lips curling into a smile. He knows instantly that Nate must be alone, because his next words are the kind he only utters when no one is around.

 

_"Miss You."_

 

Jo swallows hard around the lump in his throat. It's breaking his heart that he can't say those same words back to Nate. "You too."

 

He disconnects the call, and silently hopes that the next time Nate says he misses him, he'll be able to say it back, and maybe even something more.

 

  


**Author's Note:**

> Follow my Tumblr [here](http://boltschick2612.tumblr.com/), if you so desire.


End file.
